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Harrenhal
Harrenhal, the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, is the seat of House Bittersteel in the riverlands, on the north shore of the Gods Eye lake. Since its burning by dragonfire in the War of Conquest, however, it has become a dark and ruinous place. The castle's holdings are some of the richest in Westeros, claiming vast tracts of green fertile land which reach as far as the hills of House Wode near the crownlands. Harrentown is found near Harrenhal. Layout The castle has five towers of dizzying size, with equally monstrous curtain walls. The walls are incredibly thick and its rooms are built on a scale that would be more comfortable for giants than humans. Harrenhal covers three times as much ground as Winterfell and its buildings are so much larger that they can scarcely be compared. Its stables can house a thousand horses, its godswood covers twenty acres, and its kitchens are as large as Winterfell's Great Hall. However, much of Harrenhal has far gone into decay. The Whents use only the lower thirds of two of the five towers, letting the rest go to ruin, and many places in the castle have not been entered in decades. Bats infest the tops of some of the towers. Walls and Towers Harrenhal is built on a gigantic scale; its colossal curtain walls are sheer and high as mountain cliffs while atop the battlements the wood-and-iron scorpions seem as small as their namesakes when seen from the ground. Harrenhal's gatehouse is as large as Winterfell's Great Keep, and its stone is discolored and fissured. From outside the gatehouse, only the tops of five immense towers can be seen because the height of the walls obscure the view of them. Of the castle's five towers, the shortest is half again as high as the tallest one in Winterfell, yet none of the towers are proper, being bent, lumped, and cracked from the melting of the stone during the burning of Harrenhal by the Targaryen dragons three centuries earlier. Their original names were lost with the death of Harren the Black. The Five Towers: * Tower of Dread * Widow's Tower connects to the Kingspyre Tower via a stone bridge. Underneath there is a great cell that is used to keep prisoners. * Wailing Tower contains storerooms on the ground floor and cavernous vaults beneath. * Tower of Ghosts is near the postern gate and the ruined sept. * Kingspyre Tower contains the castellan's chambers. It connects to the Widow's Tower via a stone bridge. Known Gates: * The main gate has walls so thick that no less than a dozen murder holes are passed before one reaches the yard on the other side. * The east gate is smaller than the main gate and is located near the Tower of Ghosts. Misc * The Hall of the Hundred Hearths is the castle's great hall. It has only thirty-four or thirty-five hearths, but is said to be able to entertain an army. Its floors are smooth slate and there are steps to two galleries above. * The kitchens are located in a round stone building with a domed roof containing nothing but kitchens. The kitchens are as large as Winterfell's Great Hall. * The Barracks Hall above the armory is where the men-at-arms take their meals. * The armory is located below the Barracks Hall and contains the forge. * The godswood is walled over twenty acres. It has a small stream running through it. The weirwood heart tree appears to have a terrible visage full of hatred, with a twisted mouth and flaring eyes. It is located across the ward from where the Barracks Hall and the armory are. The heart tree has thirteen deep marks carved into it dating to 130 AC when Daemon Targaryen battled Aemond Targaryen in the Dance of the Dragons. These marks still bleed every spring. * Flowstone Yard is where men-at-arms exercise and drill and squires clean arms and armor. It has a lumpy surface and is located near the Wailing Tower. There is a covered gallery above the Flowstone Yard with arches looking towards it. * The bear pit is ten yards across and five yards across, walled in stone, floored with sand, and encircled by six tiers of marble benches. It is located in the middle ward. * The bathhouse is a low-ceiling-ed room filled with great stone tubs large enough to hold six or seven after the fashion of the Free Cities. The bathhouse is made of stone and timber, with only one entrance to the room. Category:Harrenhal Category:House Bittersteel Category:Castles Category:Places in the Riverlands Category:Castle